The Icy Void of Tau Volantis Awaits...

Dead Space 3 has been receiving a lot of flak from followers of the franchise lately, as publisher EA has been making some pretty unpopular decisions regarding the title. Gamers snarled that the inclusion of online co-op completely destroys the essence of what makes Dead Space... well, Dead Space. Still, more fans aren't particularly pleased that the publisher has decided to include micro-transactions in the title, decrying it as a cash grab.

Worse, the push towards a seemingly more "action-oriented" stance and the increased mobility of Clarke seem like it's running completely counter to what the series established for itself. Not only that; judging from the Dead Space 3 trailers we've seen thus far, it's going to be a bit more action-oriented than previous titles. Clarke's going to be quite a bit more mobile, though most have yet to determine whether or not this is a good thing.

In spite of all this, I still feel like we should all give Dead Space 3 a chance. Maybe it'll surprise everyone. In spite of all its faults, it's also got quite a few merits.

The co-operative elements in Dead Space 3 aren't going to completely ruin the feel of the franchise. Not even close. The other partner is by no means integral to the gameplay; when they're not being played by someone, they simply vanish from the game (though certain cutscenes will change based on whether or not Clarke has Carver with him). In other words, if you want to play single-player... you're gonna do it alone. If you choose to do online co-op, the other player will step into the shoes of John Carver, a military Sergeant from Earth.

Don't worry, he's a lot more than a generic space marine. Carver doesn't exactly have his wits about him in any sense: he's hallucinating like mad as a result of the Necromorph markers. Series mainstay Isaac Clarke, meanwhile, has long since become immune to the effects. He'll be a lot more sane than he was in previous installments. Oh, and you can also shout at your partner through Kinect if you play the Xbox 360 version. That should be interesting to see.

Another big change from previous games is a vastly improved weapon crafting system. According to the developer, Dead Space 3 will allow for a ridiculous amount of customization, with thousands of possible combinations accessible to the player; cobbled together from the remains of a two-hundred-year-old failed expedition to the planet's surface. Gathered resources can be brought to a weapons bench, at which point they're combined into a custom blueprint which can be shared with (and improved upon by) friends.

A gamer at heart, Nick started writing when he was a child. He holds a BA in English, works as a freelancer, and loves every minute of it. One day, he hopes to net himself a career in game design - but that's something for the future.

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